Brazil Santander launches crypto services as customer demand grows

Banco Santander (Brazil) – the Brazilian arm of the Spanish banking giant – revealed intentions to offer cryptocurrency services to customers. In doing so, the company will join a number of local institutions that have already jumped on the digital asset bandwagon, including BTG Pactual, Nubank, PicPay and XP Inc.

Brazil may have a new crypto player

In a recent interview for a local media, Brasil Santander’s CEO – Mario Leão – said that his bank could offer crypto-related services to its over 9 million customers. He further informed that the offer will take a few months to go live:

“We expect in the next few months to have definitions on that, who knows in the next release [of quarterly results]or even before.”

Leão presented himself as a true advocate of the digital asset universe, believing it “is here to stay.” The offer will be introduced not because rival companies are rushing to enter the sector, but because Banco Santander’s users have shown a great appetite for the asset class:

“We recognize that it is a market that is here to stay, and it is not necessarily a reaction to competitors positioning themselves. It is simply a perception that our client has a demand for these types of assets, so we need to find the most correct and more educational way to do it.”

Speaking of other Brazilian firms that started offering crypto solutions, it is worth mentioning BTG Pactual, Latin America’s largest digital bank – Nubank and PicPay. Earlier this week, the country’s leading brokerage firm – XP Inc. – revealed that it will launch a digital asset exchange called XTAGE. It is expected to become publicly available in mid-August, as it will initially allow trading of bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH).

Brazil’s crypto community

The largest nation in South America is known as a crypto-friendly place since a large part of its citizens are fascinated by the asset class. At the same time, a number of authorities and regulators have shown a positive approach.

According to a survey conducted by Gemini, Brazil is the world leader in cryptocurrency adoption, sharing the first position with Indonesia. 41% of Brazilians surveyed admitted to owning bitcoin or altcoins.

For its part, the country’s financial hub – Rio de Janeiro – has a mayor who is concerned with industry. At the beginning of 2022, Eduardo Paes announced his intentions to allocate 1% of the city’s treasury in bitcoin. He also wants to make Rio a global center for digital assets:

“Rio de Janeiro has everything it takes to become the technology capital of South America. Events like Rio Innovation Week come to strengthen the city’s image as the perfect place to work, live and innovate.”

A few months later, Rio’s authorities said they could accept BTC payments for taxes. If successful, the move would make it the first local city to take such a step.

The Brazilian government is also mainly open to the crypto-kingdom. The latest proposed bill sought to recognize bitcoin and other digital currencies as legal financial assets.